List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia facts for kids

The Philadelphia skyline as seen from Boathouse Row in June 2019 (annotated version)

The Philadelphia skyline as seen from the Delaware River in February 2023

Philadelphia, the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to more than 300 completed high-rise buildings up to 330 feet (101 m), and 58 completed skyscrapers of 330 feet (101 m) or taller, of which 34 are 400 feet (122 m) or taller and are listed below.

As of 2018^[update], the tallest building in the city is the 60-story Comcast Technology Center, which topped out at 1,150 feet (351 m) in Center City on November 27, 2017, and was opened in 2018.

Comcast Technology Center is the tallest building in the United States outside New York City and Chicago, and is ranked as the 14th-tallest building in the United States, and as the 96th-tallest in the world. The second-tallest building in Philadelphia is the 58-story Comcast Center at 974 feet (297 m), while the third-tallest building is One Liberty Place, which rises 61 floors and 945 feet (288 m). One Liberty Place stood as the tallest building in Pennsylvania for over 20 years until the completion of Comcast Center in 2008. Seven of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia; the remainder are in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia is one of only five American cities with two or more completed buildings over 900 feet (274 m) tall; the others are New York City, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.

Philadelphia's history of tall buildings is generally thought to have begun with the 1754 addition of the steeple to Christ Church, which was one of America's first high-rise structures. Through most of the 20th century, a "gentlemen's agreement" and economic restraints prevented buildings from rising higher than the 548-ft (167-m) Philadelphia City Hall. Despite this, Philadelphia amassed a large collection of high-rise buildings. The completion of One Liberty Place in 1987 broke the agreement, and Philadelphia has since seen the construction of eleven skyscrapers that eclipse City Hall in height.

Philadelphia has twice held the tallest habitable building in North America, first with Christ Church, then with City Hall. The latter reigned as the world's tallest building from 1894 to 1908, and is currently the world's second-tallest masonry building, only 1.6 feet (0.49 m) shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin. Like other large American cities, Philadelphia experienced a massive building boom in the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in the completion of 20 skyscrapers of 330 feet (101 m) or taller.

Tallest buildings

Comparison of Philadelphia's seven tallest skyscrapers

This list ranks completed and topped out skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement, including spires and architectural details but excluding antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. The only demolished building that would have ranked on this list was the 492-foot (150 m) One Meridian Plaza, razed in 1999.      Was Pennsylvania's tallest building upon completion      Was world's tallest building upon completion

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Address	Notes
1	Comcast Technology Center		1150 1,121 (342)	60	2018	1800 Arch Street	Construction broke ground July 2014; topped out on November 27, 2017; currently the tallest building in Pennsylvania, and the tallest building in the United States outside Manhattan and Chicago, the 14th-tallest building in the United States; opened to staff in July 2018 and the public in October 2018; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 2010s
2	Comcast Center		974 (297)	58	2008	1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd	2nd-tallest building in Pennsylvania, 31st-tallest building in the country; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 2000s
3	One Liberty Place		945 (288)	61	1987	1650 Market Street	Philadelphia's first skyscraper taller than City Hall. Third-tallest building in the state; 28th-tallest building in the country; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1980s
4	Two Liberty Place		848 (258)	58	1990	1601 Chestnut Street	48th-tallest building in the country; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1990s
5	BNY Mellon Center		792 (241)	54	1990	1735 Market Street	63rd-tallest building in the country, also known as Nine Penn Center
6	Three Logan Square		739 (225)	55	1991	1717 Arch Street	112th-tallest building in the country, formerly known as Bell Atlantic Tower and Verizon Tower
7	FMC Tower at Cira Centre South		736 (224)	49	2016	2929 Walnut Street	121st-tallest building in the country, the tallest building in Philadelphia outside Center City
8	G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building		625 (191)	45	1990	1901 Market Street	Formerly known as the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Tower and the IBX Tower
9	The W Philadelphia and Element Philadelphia		617 (188)	51	2020	1441 Chestnut Street	tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 2020s
10	The Laurel and 1909 Rittenhouse		604 (184)	50	2022	1909-11 Walnut Street	Tallest residential building in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
11=	One Commerce Square		565 (172)	41	1987	2005 W. Market Street	One and Two Commerce Square are currently the tallest twin buildings in Philadelphia and sixth-tallest twin buildings in the United States.
11=	Two Commerce Square		565 (172)	41	1992	2001 W. Market Street	One and Two Commerce Square are currently the tallest twin buildings in Philadelphia and 6th-tallest twin buildings in the United States.
13	Philadelphia City Hall		548 (167)	9	1901	1 Penn Square	1901 is the official year of completion and the transfer of ownership to the city government; however, the tower had been topped out in 1894 and the building had been partially occupied by then, making it the tallest habitable building in the United States and the world from 1894 until the completion of the Singer Building in 1908;tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1900s.
14	Arthaus		528 (161)	47	2022	301 S. Broad Street
15	The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton		518 (158)	48	2009	1414 South Penn Square
16	1818 Market Street		500 (152)	40	1974	1818 Market Street	Tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1970s
17	The St. James		498 (152)	45	2004	200 West Washington Square	Tallest building located east of Broad Street When constructed in 2003, the St. James was the tallest apartment building in Philadelphia.
18	Loews Philadelphia Hotel		492 (150)	36	1932	1200 Market Street	Formerly known as the PSFS Building; tallest hotel in the city until the Four Seasons opened in the Comcast Technology Center, tallest building in Philadelphia completed in the 1930s, 2nd-tallest in Philadelphia at the time of completion, the building reaches a height of 750 feet (229 m) with its antenna, total building area is 631,006 square feet (58,622.4 m2);
19	PNC Bank Building		491 (150)	40	1983	1600 Market Street
20=	Centre Square II		490 (149)	40	1973	Market and 15th streets
20=	Five Penn Center		490 (149)	36	1970	1601 Market Street
22	Murano		475 (145)	43	2008	2101 Market Street
23	One South Broad		472 (144)	28	1932	1 S. Broad Street	Formerly known as the Lincoln-Liberty Building and the PNB (Philadelphia National Bank) Building
24=	2000 Market Street		435 (133)	29	1973	2000 Market Street
24=	Two Logan Square		435 (133)	35	1987	100 N. 18th Street
26	Cira Centre		434 (132)	28	2005	30th and Arch streets
27=	1700 Market		430 (131)	32	1968	1700 Market Street	Tallest building completed in the 1960s
27=	Evo at Cira Centre South		430 (131)	33	2014	2930 Chestnut Street
29	1835 Market Street		425 (130)	29	1986	1835 Market Street	Name was changed from Eleven Penn Center in 2003
30	Centre Square I		417 (127)	32	1973	Market and 15th streets
31	Jefferson Tower		412 (126)	32	1984	1101 Market Street	Formerly known as One Reading Center and the Aramark Tower.
32	Wells Fargo Building		405 (123)	29	1927	123 S. Broad Street	tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1920s
33	1706 Rittenhouse		401 (122)	33	2010	1706 Rittenhouse Square
34	One Logan Square		400 (122)	31	1983	130 N. 18th Street

Tallest under construction, approved, and proposed

Buildings of at least 400 feet (122 m) tall that are under construction, approved, or proposed.

Under Construction

Approved

Proposed

Timeline of tallest buildings

An 1898 poster of skyscrapers in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has seen few city record-holders compared to other cities with comparable skylines. Although churches, cathedrals, and the like are not technically considered to be skyscrapers, Christ Church, after being surmounted with its lofty spire in 1754, stood as its tallest building for 102 years before being surpassed by the (no longer extant) spire of Tenth Presbyterian Church, which was surpassed by City Hall in 1894. Then, due to the "gentlemen's agreement" not to build higher than the top of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall, that building stood as the city's tallest structure for 93 years; it also held the world record for tallest habitable building from 1894 until the 1908 completion of the Singer Building in New York City.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Architect	Reference
Independence Hall		520 Chestnut Street	1748–1754	134 (41)	00 2	Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton
Christ Church		20 North American Street	1754–1856	196 (60)	00 —	Robert Smith
Tenth Presbyterian Church		17th & Spruce Streets	1856–1894	250 (76)	00 —	John McArthur Jr.
Philadelphia City Hall		Broad & Market Streets	1894–1987	548 (167)	9	John McArthur Jr.
One Liberty Place		1650 Market Street	1987–2008	945 (288)	61	Helmut Jahn
Comcast Center		1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard	2008–2017	974 (297)	57	Robert A. M. Stern Architects
Comcast Technology Center		1800 Arch Street	2017–present	1121 1,121 (342)	60	Norman Foster

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Edificios más altos de Filadelfia para niños

• Buildings and architecture of Philadelphia
• List of tallest buildings in Pittsburgh
• List of tallest buildings in Pennsylvania
• List of tallest buildings in Camden
• List of tallest buildings in the United States